I also have know a decent amount of people that made it back from Australia to BC: they all had outstanding academics and LORs and test scores (several deviations above average). So it's not impossible...
Decent amount is how many and what in?
Anything outside of family med, psych or path? IM if lucky? And where exactly are they working? Rural, regional or metro?
Given the entrance requirements for internationals, a proportion won't get to the point of having outstanding applications. If your grades are already in trouble - it makes it riskier to return to either Canada or the US, after med school where standardized exams are incredibly important. Not impossible, I agree. This anecdotal (and based on what med schools have said to their own students) - but the schools themselves will never publish this. It's bad business.
On the side, I could say the same about Polish and Carribbean international grads trying to return to wherever they're from. nothing's impossible if you work hard and try or get lucky. Or to even the Australian citizens with degrees from Chinese or Samoan medical schools trying to match in the USA or Aus/NZ. If they can make it past the steps and the AMC.
Reason why this forum recommends US DO over offshore is that it is an American forum with a predominantly American user base. But beyond that - more importantly - there's more job security (relatively speaking) if you graduate from a US school (even a DO one - nothing wrong with them) and enter the US match as a grad from local/domestic school. That said, asking a non-American student used to universal healthcare may be a tall order, because it could be 10 years or more that they throw in.
Having done rotations in multiple different Western countries, I would never so casually say they're all the same. They share similarities yes.
I don't know. I just don't feel right saying to any premeds, even those interested in family med, sure, give it crack. You never know. It's just 4 years of your young life and 300k of debt. Into a foreign school who knows nothing about your home country and takes no responsibility over what happens to you after your degree. Of course, to each their own, you can take that risk you don't particularly care or aren't bothered etc.
And there's always a good chunk of premeds that don't care. Willing to go the lengths. Kudos to them. And I realize full well that I'm being cynical here, but the schools or the whole of the education sector couldn't have picked a better population to cash in on. with a largely young twentysomethings population of premeds, most of whom are just leaving undergrad, for whom med school is a vague concept. post-grad training even more so. willing to throw in the enormous fees, go into enormous lengths and debts for a dream. Adults sure, I've heard that said so many times - but does anyone really know better at age 22, 23, just out of undergrad without ever having a full time career before? I get there's a non-trads, but that's not the majority. Anyway, my own rambling.
